Fear's Labyrinth
by Jennifer A. Johnson
Summary: Season 9, episode 2. The powers of The Charmed Ones advance to near uncontrollable levels, putting Leo in mortal danger. Barbas returns to feed on Paige's greatest Fear.
1. Teaser

FEAR'S LABYRINTH

a Charmed fan fiction by Jennifer A. Johnson

DISCLAIMER: "Charmed", "The Charmed Ones" and other related entities are owned, (TM) and (c) by CONSTANCE M. BURGE, AARON SPELLING Television Inc (A Paramount / Viacom Co.), and The WB (AOL Time Warner Company). All Rights reserved. This website, its operators, and any content on this site relating to "Charmed" are not authorized by Aaron Spelling Productions. No copyright infringement is intended. Any reproduction, duplication or distribution of this material in any form is expressly prohibited.

Rose McGowan (V.O.): "Previously, on Charmed..."

Phoebe had a premonition of the death of The Charmed Ones at the hands of The Source.

In a misguided attempt to seek their forgiveness, Billie projected The Charmed Ones into a Hell Dimension. Her reasoning was that, "The sisters are happiest when they're all together, fighting demons. So I'll make it so that's all they do. All of the Halliwell sisters together, fighting demons."

Billie used Wyatt to bring The Charmed Ones back, and Piper threatened to Vanquish her if she ever saw her again.

The Source nearly accomplished his goal. Prue returned just in time to help her sisters vanquish him.

The Charmed Ones still don't know how or why Prue is back.

FADE IN: 

TEASER.

_You're afraid that you couldn't protect your wife, your sisters-in-law. You're afraid that they're dead, and that you're somehow responsible. You're always responsible, aren't you Leo? _

Leo knows it's Barbas, he recognizes the signs- the sudden fear that grabs you and lets you go and will paralyze you if you let it- but that doesn't stop it from influencing his thoughts just a little bit. "Piper, where are you?" he mutters to himself, trying to remain calm, if not for his own sake, then for the sake of the other Charmed Men who wait in Paige and Henry's apartment with him. Victor, Henry, and Coop- not to mention Wyatt and Chris- all have a stake in what's going on in the manor right now.

Leo is the first to see it, that brilliant blue-white light that always signaled the arrival of a whitelighter. He can feel the relief as it washes over him. The sisters had vanquished The Source. Piper was okay. But when Paige finally corporealizes in her apartment, it's without her sisters. Without Piper. Leo goes right to Paige. "Where's Piper? Is she okay?"

Henry grins. "My wife is so cool," he says. He takes a step towards her, but Paige holds up her finger to Henry in the universal sign of 'just gimme a minute here'. She grabs Leo by the arm and pulls him away from the civilians and the cupid, away from Henry, shutting him out. Again.

"She's fine. Better than fine, actually."

"Damn," the astral Barbas mutters, and projects himself back to his body.

Leo sort of frowns. He can sense something in the tone of her voice, in her facial expression, that forces him to push all thoughts of Piper out of his mind. He is more than Piper's husband, after all, he's Paige's whitelighter. Was! Was Paige's whitelighter. "Paige, what is it?"

Paige opens her mouth to say something, then shakes her head. She claps her hands once. "You know what? I'm just gonna have to show you. Victor, you got the boys?" Victor can barely utter a "Yeah" before she grabs Leo's arm and orbs them both out of there.

Henry follows the orbs up with his eyes and watches them disappear, the tiniest bit of a frown on his face. He isn't jealous, not of Leo, but Leo knows Paige so much better than he does. And being magical (or formerly magical, Henry still isn't entirely sure how that works), Leo could understand her in ways that Henry never could. He wouldn't mind it so much if Leo weren't the first person his wife turned to in a crisis.

Coop, who has been munching on potato chips this entire time, offers them to Henry. Henry reaches into the bag and takes one.

---

Paige orbs them into the sun room of the manor. Leo looks around, almost confused. "Paige. There's nothing here." Paige frantically shushes him, as if afraid of being caught. Okay, now he's really confused. He tries to sense something, a presence, something Good or Evil, but comes up empty. Eventually, he's going to go an entire day without trying to be a whitelighter again, but apparently, today's not the day. "What?"

Paige grabs Leo by the arm and drags him across the room. He stumbles, almost trips, but Paige doesn't slow, much less stop. She ducks out of the doorway to the living room and tries to make herself as small as possible against the wall. She looks around the corner and into the living room. She narrows her eyes. "Look at them. They probably don't even realize I'm gone," she grumbles.

Leo tries to peek around her and into the living room, but Paige grabs his head and pulls him back. "What? What is it?"

"Prue!" Paige nearly shrieks, then frantically shushes herself. She mouths Prue again at Leo and gestures wildly at the living room, just in case he didn't get it.

Leo frowns. "Prue? Prue's here?" Paige finally lets him look into the living room. Sure enough, the dearly departed is there, no longer so departed, at the foot of the stairs, with his living wife and living sister-in-law. "How is this possible?" Leo looks around for candles or some other sign that the girls conjured Prue like they often do with Penny and Pattie, but he doesn't see any. He prays that Piper didn't do anything they would all regret later.

"You're the walking Book of Shadows," Paige reminds Leo. "You tell me."

Prue's voice joins them in the sun room. "And you're spying on us, why?" Paige quickly ducks back behind the doorframe, then peeks out into the living room at the three original Charmed Ones. "Get in here and join us already, Paige."

Phoebe excitedly waves Paige over. "Come on! Come on!"

Piper remains silent, her head on Prue's shoulder and her arm intertwined with Prue's, as if anchoring her here.

Paige looks to Leo for guidance, for support. For an excuse not to go out there. He offers an encouraging nod instead. "Ready?" Leo asks her. Paige remains rooted to the spot and frantically shakes her head, her red hair flying. Leo waits a moment, then asks her again.

"Yes." Paige takes a deep breath, then steps into the living room. She hesitates and looks back to Leo. He keeps his distance, far enough away to allow the sisters to bond, but close enough to provide Paige the moral support she so obviously needs. Paige silently curses him for being so supportive, so damn understanding. So annoying.

Phoebe, however, is so excited she's practically jumping up and down. "Where'd you go, Paige?" She sees Leo standing there. "Oh! Hi, Leo!" Phoebe looks to Paige. "You got Leo?"

Paige almost snarks, 'No, he's back at the apartment. This is just a statue I made to remind me of Leo. Pretty good likeness, right?' then decides that comment probably wouldn't be the best one for someone in her uncertain position. "Yeah, Feebs." She forces a smile. "I got Leo."

Prue smiles. "Hi, Leo."

Paige touches Leo's arm possessively. He acknowledges their greetings with a nod. He studies Piper, but she doesn't even look at him. Her attention is on her big sister and only on her big sister. "You're real," Piper whispers. Leo's not even sure Piper is aware she's saying the words aloud. "You're really real."

Phoebe, still the empath, though technically not one, scurries over and locks her arms around Paige's, as if to keep her here. "Come, come. Meet your sister Prue." Phoebe leads Paige to their older sisters. "Prue, Paige. Paige, Prue."

All those old feelings of inadequacy come rushing back to Paige, of how Prue was this superwitch, and Paige could never, ever stack up. Never. And did she mention never? "So this is the Great and All Powerful Prue?" she snarks, trying to bury her true feelings and failing miserably. "I thought she'd be taller. And what's with her eye?" She adds a big grin to make sure Prue knows that she's just kidding, even if she isn't.

Piper lifts her head from Prue's shoulder. Irritation flashes in her brown eyes. "Paige?"

"Huh?" Paige asks, even though she's pretty sure she knows what Piper's going to say.

"Zip it," Piper demands. Paige was right. Piper returns her head to Prue's shoulder. Prue lovingly strokes Piper's shiny, brown hair.

"Isn't this great?" Phoebe enthuses, her voice overly cheerful and grating on Paige's last nerve. She looks for confirmation from Leo. "Isn't this great?" His eyes on Piper, Leo nods, still not quite sure that it is. "All four of the Halliwell sisters, together at last," Phoebe continues, with a wide sweep of her arms, to include the four P's.

Paige just can't help herself. "Only one of them a zombie!" she chirps, mimicking Phoebe's voice exactly. She grins broadly. Piper shoots her a look that clearly tells her to shut the hell up. Paige bites her lip to keep from saying anything else.

"Nothing's gonna separate us again!" Phoebe continues, trying to keep them all focused on her. She takes Prue's hand, and Paige's hand, linking all four of The Charmed Ones together.

The chandelier rattles above them. A blue-white light bounces off the crystal and radiates downward. Leo watches as all four of The Charmed Ones are bathed in its brilliant glow. The four sisters look heavenward.

"The Power of Four," Phoebe breathes.

---

Barbas returns to his body. He sniffs the air. Stuck on a ledge in Purgatory since his last vanquish, he smells the sulfur clouds and the brimstone and the hot magma below. And something else. Barbas licks his finger and sticks it into the air as if testing the wind. He breathes in deep. It is the delicious smell of Fear. More precisely, the Fear of a Charmed One. The Fear of a former Elder was one thing, but as much as he enjoyed feeding from Leo, the Fear of a Charmed One was another thing entirely. The Fear of a Charmed One could get him out of this godforsaken place, once and for all.

Barbas smirks. His ragged teeth poke out beneath his lip. "The Power of Four," he breathes, taking in the Fear with a great wave of his hands.

END TEASER.

CREDITS.

Starring:

Alyssa Milano as Phoebe Halliwell

Rose McGowan as Paige Matthews

with Holly Marie Combs as Piper Halliwell

and Shannen Doherty as Prue Halliwell

Brian Krause as Leo Wyatt


	2. Act One

FEAR'S LABYRINTH

a Charmed fan fiction by Jennifer A. Johnson

DISCLAIMER: "Charmed", "The Charmed Ones" and other related entities are owned, (TM) and (c) by CONSTANCE M. BURGE, AARON SPELLING Television Inc (A Paramount / Viacom Co.), and The WB (AOL Time Warner Company). All Rights reserved. This website, its operators, and any content on this site relating to "Charmed" are not authorized by Aaron Spelling Productions. No copyright infringement is intended. Any reproduction, duplication or distribution of this material in any form is expressly prohibited.

ACT ONE.

Guest starring:

Billy Drago as Barbas

Rebecca Balding as Elise Rothman

Elizabeth Dennehy as Elder Sandra

John de Lancie as Elder Odin

James Read as Victor Bennett

with Ivan Sergi as Henry Mitchell

and Victor Webster as Coop

The picture of Paige, Phoebe, and Piper on the couch hangs on the wall.

Paige rolls her eyes. "The Power of Four?" She crosses her arms over her chest. "Please."

A barrage of emotions comes at Phoebe from every direction. Joy, pain, inadequacy, possessiveness, uncertainty, resentment, distrust; they all hit her at full force, seemingly all at once. Phoebe stumbles back as they slam into her, practically knocking the breath out of her. The blue-white light seeps back into the chandelier as she leaves the circle. Emotions that are not her own- and yet somehow are- scream in her head. She recognizes it almost immediately for what it is- it hasn't been that long since They took her powers- and she glares accusingly up at the sky. "Empathy? Now? Are you kidding me?"

Phoebe takes another step back, and nearly collapses under the weight of all that emotion. Prue and Piper are there to catch her when she falls. They gently guide her over to the couch and help her sit down. Paige tags along.

Prue and Piper sit on either side of Phoebe. Phoebe cuddles up to Prue, her head on her big sister's shoulder. Piper sits close and strokes Phoebe's hair, her arm around Phoebe. Paige goes into the kitchen to get Phoebe a glass of water, and when she comes back, they're still cooing over Phoebe. "Okay, but can you not be so concerned, cause it's really hurting my head," Phoebe asks them in her little girl voice.

Prue smiles ruefully. "Sorry." Phoebe tries to smile back through the pain.

"I got you some water," Paige chirps.

Phoebe gratefully takes the water with a "Thanks, Paige," and Paige beams. She looks for a spot on the couch and has to settle for the arm next to Piper.

Leo looks at Phoebe with concern, his arms crossed. "What happened?"

"She got her empathy back, Leo," Prue says in a voice suggests that Leo should just know.

Leo finds himself mumbling an apology before he even realizes he's doing it. He frowns. He hadn't meant to apologize- he hadn't done anything wrong- but Pure just kind of has that effect on him. He exchanges a glance with Paige. Paige rolls her eyes.

Phoebe takes a sip of water. She holds the glass out. Paige goes to take it from her, but Prue gets to it first. "I got it."

Paige pulls back so that Prue can put the glass down on the coffee table. She has to force herself to smile. "Of course you do," she kind of chuckles.

Phoebe traces her fingers across the back of Prue's hand. "Remember when you were an empath?" Her little girl voice just doesn't seem to be going away, and it was really starting to bug Paige.

Prue smiles at her. She wraps her arms around Phoebe's neck and puts her chin on her shoulder. "Yeah. I do."

"Were you as annoying as Phoebe was?" Paige blurts without thinking. All three of her sisters glare at her, but Prue's face is the one that makes her startle. It was worse than Piper's, though Paige suddenly knew who Piper had been trying to emulate all these years. But Piper never actually scared Paige. Prue, on the other hand, was one scary witch. Paige quickly averts her eyes and gets off the couch arm. She ducks her head and goes to Leo's side and hides behind him without actually hiding. "Ew."

"No, Paige," Prue practically growls. "It almost killed me. Until I learned to channel it."

Paige frowns. "And you knew she was an empath, how?" she asks. "You were dead." Suddenly, Paige isn't so sure. "Wait... weren't you?" She looks to Leo for confirmation. Leo nods, albeit uncertainly.

Prue smiles, though to Paige it looks a little forced. Phoebe and Piper probably don't notice. "Death wasn't going to keep me from looking out for my sisters," Prue says, more to Piper and Phoebe than to Paige.

A look of relief washes over Piper's face. "I knew it. I knew it." Prue reaches over Phoebe to squeeze Piper's hand. Piper latches on and doesn't let go.

"I'm very proud of the way you handled the whole Cole situation, Feebs," Prue adds.

Phoebe smiles, tears of joy and pain in her eyes. She rests her chin on Prue's shoulder and looks up into her eyes. "This empathy thing is really hurting my head," she whines to her biggest sister. Prue makes sympathetic noises and pets Phoebe's head.

Paige looks to Leo. "Why now?" She hopes Leo picks up on the fact that she means it more as 'Why is Prue back?' than 'Why did Phoebe get her empathy back?'

"I don't know," Phoebe answers for him. "Maybe it's because of Prue?" She looks to Prue for confirmation. "You're back, right?" Hope gleams in her beautiful eyes.

"I'm back," Prue assures her.

"Why are you back?" Paige asks with a nervous laugh, hoping it sounds like a question, not an accusation.

"Paige, you're half whitelighter," Prue says.

"Half whitelighter, half witch," Paige reminds her, then pointedly adds, "Half Charmed One." She chuckles again and tosses her hair. She can't help but feel territorial here.

"So, you can go check with The Elders, alright?" The way Prue says it, it sounds like an order, not a request, and the only child in Paige makes her want to refuse. "Alright?" This time there's no mistaking it; it's definitely an order.

"Alright," Paige sniffs. She turns herself into a sparkle of orbs which slowly dissipate. She hears her sisters' voices before she fully teleports away.

"Don't leave us, ever, ever again," Phoebe baby-talks. "Never ever."

"Never again," Prue promises.

"Dammit," Paige mutters as she finally orbs all the way out.

---

Paige orbs in on the Golden Gate Bridge. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. The wind whips at her hair, tears at her clothes. The traffic roars beneath her. She finds all this noise oddly soothing, almost peaceful. It must be the whitelighter in her, because Leo and Future Chris used to like it up here too.

The astral Barbas flashes in behind her. He opens his mouth to tap into her subconscious, then immediately flashes out and returns to his body in Purgatory.

A slightly brighter blue light than her own splashes across Paige's face. She can feel its warming glow on her skin. She opens her eyes and recognizes The Elder as Sandra, the one who more often than not was on the side of The Charmed Ones.

"Hello, Paige," Elder Sandra says, her voice eternally tranquil.

"Prue's back. Why is she back?"

A shadow passes over Sandra's face. Paige assumes it's the closest thing to a frown this particular Elder was capable of. "Prue?"

"You didn't know?" Paige snorts. She crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow. "Why am I not surprised?"

Elder Odin orbs in next to Sandra. Paige knows him best as The Elder who tried to take Leo away from them, and the one who tried to shut down Magic School. Odin doesn't look pleased. But that's not surprising; he never looks pleased. He looks even less pleased that usual, if that's at all possible. He barely gives Paige a second glance before turning to Sandra. "What did she say?"

"I said--" Paige kind of waves in his face to get his attention. "Hi." Odin rolls his eyes over to her. "I said that Prue is back."

Odin looks at her like she just said that up was down and that Paris Hilton deserved to be a whitelighter. "Prue... is alive?"

Paige scrunches up her face. "I'm not sure."

Sandra and Odin exchange a glance.

---

Leo hates to break up the sisterly bonding (he had learned long ago not to even try to come in between the Halliwell sisters), but he needs to talk to his wife. Now. "Piper, can I talk to you?"

Piper clearly doesn't want to. She looks to Prue with pleading eyes. Phoebe is still attached firmly to Prue's arm. Prue nods. "I'll be here when you get back," she promises.

Piper stands. She looks down at Prue. "You better be. Otherwise, I'd have to hunt you down and kill you," Piper says, a bit of the big sister returning to her voice. And she means it, too. She follows Leo far enough away so that Phoebe and Prue can hear Piper and Leo, but close enough so that Piper can still see them. She can't seem to take her eyes off Prue.

"Piper, is there something you want to tell me?"

That gets Piper's attention, and she jerks her head over to Leo. In any other man, it would sound like a question, but, well, Leo wasn't just any man. In him, it sounded, to Piper at least, like an accusation, even with that soft voice of his. "You think I had something to do with this? How? How can you think that?"

"Because I know you."

Piper's eyes get really wide. The scar above her right eye becomes even more pronounced. Leo knows the anger is coming. So does Phoebe. She looks up from Prue as Piper's anger flashes hot inside her head. "Well, I didn't."

"Piper, I know," he says calmly, soothingly, hoping to diffuse the situation.

She takes a step back, her eyes accusing. "Know what, exactly?"

"I know you used the To Call a Lost Witch spell after Prue died."

"Well, I didn't this time," she says, her voice full of indignation.

"Piper..."

"No." She whirls around in a great flurry of arms and hair to head back for her sisters.

Leo reaches out and touches her arm. Phoebe feels Piper's anger flare up. Piper stops and glares at his hand as he reminds her, "You can tell me. You can tell me anything," his voice soft and gentle.

Piper yanks her arm away. She raises a finger to him. Her voice shakes with anger. "Don't touch me."

Leo looks at her, surprised and hurt. "Piper."

"NO!" Piper shouts in an unnaturally deep and overly processed voice. She thrusts her hands out, setting off a wall of orange mojo that blasts straight through Leo's chest and propels him and most of the objects around him across the living room. He hits the grandfather clock with a sickening splat. The clock explodes around him like shrapnel. He tumbles to the ground and doesn't move. A puddle of blood forms under his body. His hair is tacky with blood where he hit his head. His vacant eyes stare up at the ceiling.

END ACT ONE.


	3. Act Two

FEAR'S LABYRINTH

a Charmed fan fiction by Jennifer A. Johnson

DISCLAIMER: "Charmed", "The Charmed Ones" and other related entities are owned, (TM) and (c) by CONSTANCE M. BURGE, AARON SPELLING Television Inc (A Paramount / Viacom Co.), and The WB (AOL Time Warner Company). All Rights reserved. This website, its operators, and any content on this site relating to "Charmed" are not authorized by Aaron Spelling Productions. No copyright infringement is intended. Any reproduction, duplication or distribution of this material in any form is expressly prohibited.

ACT TWO.

Piper stands over Leo's lifeless body, in shock and horror. She stares at her shaking hands. "I didn't... I didn't..."

Prue holds her close. "I know, sweetie, I know," she says reassuringly. She snaps at Phoebe and points to Leo.

Phoebe forces herself to breathe again. She ignores the crushing weight on her chest, the intense pain that Leo had felt only seconds before and still must be feeling- and goes to Leo. She frantically searches for a pulse, a breath, something, anything, to tell her that her brother-in-law is still alive. But she can't find anything. And the crushing pain is gone. She looks at Piper, fear in her eyes- fear for Leo, and fear of Piper.

"No," Piper moans. She covers her face and sobs. She turns around and buries her head in Prue's chest.

Prue holds her fiercely, protectively. She looks up at the ceiling. "Paige!"

---

"PAIGE!"

Paige startles. The voice came out of nowhere, but it was definitely Prue. And she was in trouble. Paige doesn't even let Odin finish his longwinded, Elder diatribe about their enhanced powers before she orbs out of there.

---

Paige orbs into the living room. The first thing she sees is Leo's lifeless body, and the blood coming from his chest, his head. "Leo," she says in a voice so quiet she can hardly hear it herself. She focuses on the gaping wound in his chest, with the burns that radiate outward to cover most of his body. Once her eyes are there, she can't pull them away. She was a train wreck kind of girl, always had been, always will be. She wrinkles her nose. "Ew."

_You're afraid that you won't be able to heal Leo. You're afraid that you'll have to give up on him, and that your sisters will have to give up on you. If you can't heal, your sisters won't need you anymore, not with Prue here to complete the Power of Three. They can always use potions to transport them from place to place. _

And the sound of astral Barbas chipping away at her subconscious was not helping.

"Paige!" Phoebe yells.

Paige snaps back to reality at the sound of her voice. "Oh! Right!" She scurries across the room and practically throws herself on his body. She presses her hands to his chest, ignoring the sticky feel of his blood, the flaky feel of his burnt flesh. "I can do this, I can do this," she says to herself, almost like a mantra. She tries to heal him, but nothing happens, which can only mean one thing. She looks up at Piper with wide eyes. "He's dead." Please don't abandon me, she thinks.   
_But they will abandon you, Paige. They--_

Piper breaks away from Prue. "No. No, you will not give up! You hear me?! You will not give up!"

Paige isn't sure whether she's talking to her or Leo; maybe she's talking to herself. Paige shakes her hands and tries again. "Come on," she mutters. Suddenly, a blinding white light shoots out of her palms, practically knocking her flat on her ass. Her red hair is swept off her shoulders as the light explodes from her whole body. The light engulfs Leo, taking him into it. The gaping wound in his chest seems to swallow itself until it disappears entirely. The blood seeps back into his head.

His eyes flutter open, and he slowly sits up. He looks around at the faces staring back at him. "What happened?"

"Careful. Careful," Paige cautions, helping him up.

"What happened is you were dead, and Paige healed you," Prue informs him, sisterly pride all over her voice.

Paige practically puffs up with her own pride. "I did, didn't I?"

Prue grins hugely. "Yeah, you did."

"Go, you!" Phoebe chimes in, if only not to be left out.

Piper alone remains silent. She looks dead inside. Leo is more concerned with her than with himself right now. "Piper?" He reaches out to touch her, but she pulls back as if touching her would result in his death. Permanently. Piper and Leo stare at each other a moment, then she whirls around and runs away. "Piper," Leo says, softly, almost to himself.

Prue starts to go after Piper, but Phoebe puts an arm out to stop her. "She really needs to be alone right now. I can feel it."

Prue eyes Phoebe up and down. "Forget that," she scoffs. She points to Leo. "You. Stay here. We don't want Piper to accidentally blow you up again, especially with you being mortal now." Prue goes after her sister. Leo barely takes a step to follow, when she calls back, "Don't you follow me!" Leo stops in his tracks.

"So much for her headache," Paige says, then looks to Leo. He's still staring after Piper. She pats him on the shoulder with a force that makes him startle. He looks over at her. "So, how you doing, dude?"

---

Piper hides out in the basement. She hears the footsteps on the stairs and makes herself as small as possible in the corner. "Go away!"

Prue comes down the stairs. The kitchen light filters in through the doorway, creating a backlight that gives the appearance of a halo over Prue's head. She looks over the boxes staked in the corner and sees where Piper's hiding. "I'm not going to do that, Piper. You're just going to have to come out."

"No," Piper says, sounding for all the world like a stubborn child. "I'm not coming out. I'm never coming out again." Prue takes another step towards her. Piper scrambles away. "Stay back! Before I kill you too!" She starts to point at Prue without thinking, then quickly puts her hands down.

It doesn't even occur to Prue to be afraid as she approaches her sister. "You can't kill me, Piper."

"I just killed the love of my life, so excuse me for thinking I could kill my own sister!" Piper practically shrieks, her voice taking on that register that only dogs and Leo seem to be able to hear. Dogs, Leo, and Prue. Piper waves her hands and the boxes explode into orange dust around her. She crouches down and covers her face with her hands.

Prue kneels in front of her sister. She gently takes Piper's wrists and pulls her arms away from her face. She looks into Piper's eyes. "Leo is fine. Paige healed him." Piper opens her mouth to argue, but Prue cuts her off. "Your powers are just progressing, sweetie, that's all," Prue says comfortingly. "The Elders wouldn't have given this enhancement if they didn't think you could handle it."

"Well, they can just take it back." Piper just knows The Elders are up there, laughing at her like they always do. Her life is a game to them, she knows it. Always has been, always will be. And she hates them for it. Piper stands up. She glares up at the ceiling. "You hear me?" she yells, stomping her foot. "Take. It. Back!" The orange mojo explodes all around her, decimating everything in its path, much like an atom bomb. Piper can only watch in horror as the mojo tears through the basement and straight for Prue.

Prue just calmly holds up her hand. The mojo bounces harmlessly off her palm. There's a little ping to announce the use of her telekinesis. The mojo tears back through the basement, bringing all of the decimated objects back together, like an atom bomb in reverse. It sweeps around Piper, tearing at her hair, her clothes, and then the air is still. Piper's jaw drops.

"I told you, Piper. You can't kill me."

---

"Well!" Phoebe exclaims, clapping her hands with a force that makes Paige startle. "I'm outta here!" She hops off the couch and heads for the door.

Paige wonders if her sister can really be this selfish. Then again, this is Phoebe we're talking about, after all. Paige scurries after her. The astral Barbas watches them both go. He vanishes in a flash. "Wait! What about Piper?"

Phoebe stops. Irritation flickers in her eyes. "What about Piper?"

"Uh, she just killed her husband." Paige can't believe she has to remind Phoebe this. Phoebe was the one who had actually witnessed it. "I think she could use our support."

Phoebe gives her a dismissive wave of her hand. "Oh, she'll be fine. She's with Prue."

"Here we go," Paige mutters. "Saint Prue!"

Phoebe peers at her a moment, then shakes her head. "Paige, I've got my empathy back. You think I'm going to waste it? Think of all the people I can help."

Now it's Paige's turn to do the peering. "Is this about 'Ask Phoebe'? You up for another Reader's Choice award or something?"

Phoebe whirls around in a huff. She storms for the door. Paige sighs and kind of bobs her head in defeat. She starts to go after her. "Phoebe..."

Phoebe throws open the front door. "I've already slammed the door!" She leaves, slamming the door behind her.

Paige stops. She blows her bangs out of her face. Leo comes up beside her.

The astral Barbas chooses that moment to flash in behind Paige. Leo frowns slightly, as if sensing Barbas' presence. Paige looks over at Leo. She puts her hand on his shoulder. "Well, at least you're here. I can always count on you, Leo."

"Actually..." Leo starts, almost reluctantly.

_You're afraid that now that they've got Prue back, they won't need you anymore. _Paige's hand slides off of Leo's shoulder as she listens to Barbas' words._ You're afraid that they're all going to abandon you, which they will. They're only human, after all._

"I think I should be with the boys," Leo says. "Can you orb me to your place?"

Paige throws up her hands in near despair. "Oh, sure! You go ahead and abandon me too!"

The air crackles with electricity. The room rumbles. "Paige..." Leo warns, sensing that something big is about to happen, but if she hears him, she pretends not to.

A book rises off the coffee table and flies across the living room, leaving a trail of orbs behind it. Leo barely has time to duck before it sails over his head. Even the astral Barbas instinctively dodges the book. He watches as it crashes into the far wall. He looks back to Paige, a smile dancing on his thin lips. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! What was that?"

The couch rises into the air and floats on a bed of orbs. The coffee table floats up to join it. The entire room shakes. The Warren ancestral portraits on the stairwell fall to the ground. Her red hair sweeps of her shoulders, giving it the appearance of fire. Electricity sparks off her body. Some of the current shoots from her hands and burns straight through the wall. Bits of drywall explode all around her.

"Paige! Paige! " Leo yells, trying to get her attention, but the astral Barbas already has it.

_Oh, the fear paralyzes you, I can't believe you forgot that. _

Paige can't move. The shaking of the room intensifies. Leo struggles to keep his balance. His teeth rattle. Fear flashes in his eyes. Orbs swirl around Leo, faster and faster, making him dizzy and disorientated. He ducks again as a piece of furniture whizzes by his head. "Paige!" A heavy coffee table book slams into his chest. Leo stumbles back, the wind knocked out of him.

The astral Barbas raises his arms excitedly to the ceiling. "Ten points!" The front door rattles in the doorframe. The wood cracks and splinters, then breaks away from the hinges. The smile drops from Barbas' face before he remembers that he's only in his astral form. The door passes right through him and smashes into the wall.

The chandelier rips free from the ceiling. Leo dives out of the way as it crashes to the floor below. The glass shatters. Electricity shoots out in every direction and nearly electrocutes him. "PAIGE!"

Paige blinks and shakes her head. She seems to come back from wherever she was. The shaking stops. The floating furniture drops as one. Beads of sweat glisten on her forehead, her face, her chest, just above her cute tank top. Her breath comes in ragged gasps. "What was that?" Leo practically squeaks. Paige shrugs her shoulders and gives him a 'my bad' look.

The astral Barbas nods in approval. "Cool. Very, very cool," he sneers, then returns to his body in Purgatory.

---

Phoebe's fingers fly across the keys. She finishes the last sentence. She reads over what she wrote, her eyes moving over the words behind her stylish Prada reading glasses. She clicks on print and sits back, pretty damn pleased with herself.

---

Phoebe steps out of her office. She waves her copy around to get the attention of all those in attendance. "'Ask Phoebe' is done!" There's a scattering of applause, and she grins hugely. She can just feel their love. "Thank you, thank you!"

Phoebe calls for her assistant, and Sophie comes running. "Yes, Phoebe?"

"I got copy!" Phoebe enthuses, gladly feeding off Sophie's cheerful nature, and practically shoves the piece of paper in her assistant's face.

Sophie reads Ask Phoebe's great advice. "Wow. Wow. This just might be your best column ever."

"Nah," Phoebe gushes, with a dismissive wave of her hand, but the broad grin on her face suggests she thinks otherwise. "Really?"

"Really. This is really, really good. Insightful, and well, brilliant."

"Nah," Phoebe says again, then stops. "Brilliant? Really?"

"Oh, yeah," Sophie says, furiously nodding and looking like her head might fall off. "I mean, you're always brilliant, but this?" Phoebe continues to preen. "Are you up for the People's Choice Award? Cause if you're not, you should be."

Phoebe stops. She blinks in irritation. The smile on her face becomes fake. "Just make sure copy puts 'Wailing Ovary in Wharton' goes before 'Itchin' in H.K.', cause it just flows better. Okay?"

Phoebe immediately catches the eye of one of her more attractive male co-workers as he enters the room. She thinks his name might be Zack. No. Milo? Probably not. Adrian? Maybe. Zack/Milo/Adrian smiles wolfishly at Phoebe. Her desire for him hits her, and hits her hard. Or is it his desire for her? Whatever, it's like a heat that starts at her loins and spreads throughout her whole body. With a single sweep of her arm, she knocks everything but his computer monitor off his desk. She grabs him by the collar and throws him down, right where the pictures of his kids would be if they weren't on the floor. She climbs on top of him and jams her tongue down his throat, practically choking him, but in a good way.

The hustle and bustle of the Bay Mirror staff room stops as the reporters stop whatever it is they're doing to catch the show. Some of them "Ooooooh!" like middle schoolers. Others roll their eyes. One of them even mutters that, "Ask Phoebe's at it again." Elise, for her part, looks horrified, though really she should be used to such behavior from Phoebe by now. "Phoebe!"

If Phoebe hears her, she pretends not to, for the kissing and the touching is just now getting good. And the amusement of the other reporters is only spurring her on. "Go! Go! Go!" they chant, and Phoebe and the random co-worker definitely do.

Elise huffs over and pries Phoebe off of him. "You two should be ashamed of yourselves!" The co-worker slides sheepishly off the desk. He ducks Elise's glare and scurries away. The other reporters groan their disappointment and return to work. Phoebe frantically fans her face to cool herself off.

Elise whirls on her and practically hisses, "Phoebe, what is the matter with you?"

"I... I don't know," Phoebe whispers, more to herself than to Elise. She can feel Elise's disappointment in her, and it's just breaking her heart.

"Go home, get a facial, be with your boyfriend, do something, but don't come back until you can control yourself!" Elise orders. "This paper can not handle another sexual harassment suit."

Phoebe nods. She knows she should be feeling guilty right now- she is with Coop, after all- but all she can feel is Elise's disappointment in her. It's like the empathy has hijacked her brain. Again. She walks away even saying goodbye to Elise and heads for the door. But to do so, she has to pass through the minefield of other people's emotions. Amusement, resentment, annoyance, and lust come flying at her from every direction. The weight of it all is just too much for her to bear, and she stops. Their emotions swirl around and around in her head, overwhelming her, suffocating her. She gasps as she struggles to breathe. Suddenly, Elise's disappointment slams into her from behind. Her eyelids flutter. Her eyes roll back in her head and she collapses. Elise runs over to catch her as she falls. Phoebe's head lolls.

"Somebody call a doctor!" Elise yells.

END ACT TWO.


	4. Act Three

FEAR'S LABYRINTH

a Charmed fan fiction by Jennifer A. Johnson

DISCLAIMER: "Charmed", "The Charmed Ones" and other related entities are owned, (TM) and (c) by CONSTANCE M. BURGE, AARON SPELLING Television Inc (A Paramount / Viacom Co.), and The WB (AOL Time Warner Company). All Rights reserved. This website, its operators, and any content on this site relating to "Charmed" are not authorized by Aaron Spelling Productions. No copyright infringement is intended. Any reproduction, duplication or distribution of this material in any form is expressly prohibited.

ACT THREE.

Paige is up in the attic, flipping through the Book of Shadows. She had gotten Henry to come pick Leo up and take him back to their place, seeing as how her powers were all out of whack and she couldn't trust herself to be around him long enough to orb him there. Leo assured her that he had full faith in her and her ability to get him there safely and had tried to get her to have faith in herself. He almost had her convinced, but ultimately Barbas won out and she refused to be his cosmic taxi. So Henry had come and gone, with a slightly perplexed look on his face and a promise from Paige that she'd explain everything later. Leo had suggested she look up something called Chaos Magick in the Book of Shadows before they left, and so that's what she's doing- looking up Chaos Magick.

Paige turns the page. The next entry just happens to be the one she's looking for. _Chaos Magick: the ability to walk into a room and make things around you explode, levitate, and fly everywhere. Often accompanied by electrokinesis, the ability to control, generate, or absorb electrical fields. It is a very rare, and very powerful, gift. _

"Good times," she mutters. That certainly sounds like what happened downstairs, but--

"You don't want it."

Paige looks up. Prue seems to be studying her carefully. Paige suddenly feels very annoyed. Plus, her hair is all frizzy from the exposure to all that electricity downstairs. All in all, it hasn't been a good day. She slams the Book shut. "No. I don't." And she wasn't just talking about the new power, either.

Prue seems to know what Paige is thinking. Her eyes narrow, and her lips twitch. "Hmm."

Paige decides to distract her new sister with one of her rants. She paces the length of the attic, while Prue just sits there and watches. Five steps, turn. Five steps, turn. "The Elders thought our powers would advance with you here, okay, but this is ridiculous. We can't keep putting Leo in danger every time one of us has a girly mood. What happens when it's--" here she makes mocking air quotes "--our time of the month?" End air quotes. She stops her pacing to consider the ramifications. "My god, think of the massacre." Prue kind of frowns. "... Okay," Paige mutters and ducks her head. Clearly, Prue isn't used to her special brand of humor yet, so she decides to change the subject. "How's Piper?"

"A little freaked."

"You couldn't get her out of the basement, could you?"

Prue starts to say something, then settles for a simple, "No."

So the All Power Prue isn't so powerful after all, Paige thinks. Like the Man Behind the Curtain. She tells herself to wipe the smug look off her face. It doesn't work.

Her cell phone rings, making her startle and take out the nearest light bulb with a sudden burst of Chaos. She ducks away from the glowering Prue to take the call. "We'll be right there," she assures the person on the other end, then quickly flips her phone shut. She turns to Prue. "Phoebe's in the emergency room."

Prue leaps up. "Let's go!" Paige takes her by the hand and orbs them out of there.

---

Paige holds her hands over Phoebe's semiconscious body. She can feel all their eyes, boring into her back, as they watch her, expecting her to work her whitelighter mojo and heal her sister.

They had gotten Phoebe home all right; the doctors had insisted she stayed the night in the hospital, but she hadn't been unconscious then. Prue, being Prue, had talked them into releasing her into her care. Phoebe had been fine as they waited for the doctor to leave the curtained-off examine room so that they can orb, but so many people in pain, coupled with Prue and Paige's sisterly concern, finally pushed Phoebe over the edge. She lapsed into a state of semiconscious, neither wake, nor asleep. Except for the occasional moan or eyelid flutter, she hasn't moved on her own since. Coop had wanted to bring her home, to their apartment, but Prue simply overruled him and took her to the manor. Now, the entire Halliwell clan- minus Piper, Victor, and the boys- are crowded into Phoebe's old room, waiting for her to be healed.

Astral Barbas' voice taps into Paige's subconscious. "Shut up!" she hisses. "Oh, God. Please work," she begs her hands. She closes her eyes and whispers, "Please," again, then opens her eyes.

Suddenly, Phoebe moans. Her eyes roll beneath the lids, making them twitch. Paige jerks back, then leans in to get a better look at her semiconscious sister. "Did I heal ya?"

Leo's concerned voice floats over to her. "I don't think you can," he says softly.

"Why the hell not? I healed you, didn't I? And you were dead! Phoebe is not dead!" Paige exclaims, making another light bulb explode. Henry jumps behind her, then does a double take when he sees the damaged lamp.

"Phoebe's ailment isn't physical, Paige," Leo tries to explain. "It's emotional. As a whitelighter, you can only heal the physical."

"Enhanced power my ass!" The clock radio, the stereo, and the TV all explode at once. Henry startles again. Sparks fly. Smoke fills the room. Paige irritably blows her bangs out of her face. "And that keeps happening, why?"

"Your power comes from your emotions, Paige," Leo reminds her. "You know that. And so does Phoebe's. She has to learn how to channel her power. You all do. If you don't..." He looks down at the semiconscious Phoebe. It's pretty clear what he means. Phoebe moans again under the weight of all their concern.

"Get out of here," Prue says, her voice deadly calm. "Sisters only." The Charmed Ones' significant others obey. Henry hesitates long enough to wait for Paige. She finally follows the men out.

Paige stops just outside the door. She frowns. "Wait a minute..." She turns back to the room. She sees Prue move to Phoebe's side. She strokes Phoebe's forehead and leans in to whisper, "Don't die on me."

Prue senses Paige watching and stops. She looks up. She waves her arm. The door slams shut in Paige's face.

---

10,293. That's how many of those little spackle things are on the ceiling. 10,293. Paige counted them. Twice. She glares over at Henry, who seems to be sound asleep. "I'm glad none of this is disturbing you."

Paige slams her hands down on the bed. She rolls over and gets up. She goes into the living room and plops down on the couch. There is nothing in the world like late night infomercials. They never put her to sleep, but at least they kept her amused until daylight came. Tonight, however, all she finds are those annoying 'Girls Gone Wild' commercials. "Terrific!" Paige says in a sarcastically bright voice. She casts the remote aside and stands up. Maybe there was something in the fridge that could keep her entertained for an hour or so. Anything to keep the Fear at bay.

Suddenly, a pair of invisible hands slam down on her shoulders. She feels their weight there, though they lack corporeal form. The astral Barbas leans in real close and purrs into her ear, "Hello, Paige." His breath is hot on her face, and smells vaguely of rotting flesh.

"You're not real," she whispers. "We vanquished you."

"Yes. Yes, you did." He flashes out, then flashes in before her. "But you can't get rid of your fears. I'll always be here." He pokes a ragged nail against her chest, where her heart is beating rapidly. "And thanks to you and your delicious Fear, I'm almost strong enough to break free of the Hell you sent me to." He forces his toothy grin upon her. "So to speak."

She tries to run, but he appears in front of her. "Uh, uh, uh, let's check your Fear at the door." Barbas passes his hand in front of her face, then reads his palm. An evil smile wriggles on his face like a worm. "You're afraid that your sisters won't want you anymore. That they'll abandon you, just like everyone else. Isn't that cute?"

Barbas moves out of the way. Suddenly, Phoebe, Piper, and Prue appear in front of her. "Paige? What's going on?" Piper asks. They seem to be just as confused as their youngest sister.

She tries to go to them, but her feet refuse to listen to her brain. She remains frozen to the spot. Barbas leans in again. "Oh, the Fear paralyses you. I can't believe you forgot that."

A blue-white light descends from the ceiling, bathing Phoebe, Piper, and Prue in its brilliant glow. A whirlwind swirls around them, sweeping their hair off their shoulders. "The Power of Three will set us free," chant The Original Charmed Ones.

"No," Paige moans. Beads of sweat glisten on her forehead. Her breath comes in shallow gasps. Her heart pounds in her chest.

"The Power of Three will set us free... The Power of Three will set us free."

Paige screams. She dissolves into a cloud of ash that settles onto the carpet. "The Power of Three," Prue breathes.

The ground rumbles. Barbas' projection of The Original Charmed Ones vanish, and Barbas himself appears. He takes in his new surroundings. He throws his head back and spreads his arms to the ceiling. "I. Am. Free!"

END ACT THREE.


	5. Act Four

FEAR'S LABYRINTH

a Charmed fan fiction by Jennifer A. Johnson

DISCLAIMER: "Charmed", "The Charmed Ones" and other related entities are owned, (TM) and (c) by CONSTANCE M. BURGE, AARON SPELLING Television Inc (A Paramount / Viacom Co.), and The WB (AOL Time Warner Company). All Rights reserved. This website, its operators, and any content on this site relating to "Charmed" are not authorized by Aaron Spelling Productions. No copyright infringement is intended. Any reproduction, duplication or distribution of this material in any form is expressly prohibited.

ACT FOUR.

Beads of sweat glisten on Phoebe's forehead. Her breath comes in shallow gasps. Her heart pounds in her chest. Suddenly, Phoebe wakes with a blood-curdling scream. Prue picks her up and cradles her baby sister in her arms. Phoebe gasps and shakes. "Easy. It's alright. It's alright," Prue soothes, stroking Phoebe's sweat covered face, her hair, and holding her close.

Phoebe struggles to breathe. "P-p-paige."

"Breathe. Breathe."

As Prue watches, Phoebe's head falls back. Her eyes kind of sink into themselves, and her mouth drops open. "Come on, Feebs." Prue pats Phoebe's cheek, but Phoebe remains nonresponsive. Panic creeps into Prue's voice. " Feebs? Feebs? Phoebe!"

Phoebe gasps and comes to. She coughs. Her eyes roll around in her head. It takes her a moment to focus. She finally gets a look of resolve on her face. "We have to save Paige."

---

Piper hides in the basement, cloaked in darkness. She finds it soothing. Well, as soothing as she could find anything after killing her husband! She plans on living down here. Forever.

The door opens, and the kitchen light spills down into the basement. Piper scrambles back behind some of the few remaining boxes, the ones she hasn't yet vanquished with this new power of hers. Prue's voice floats down the stairs. "Piper?"

"Forget it. I'm not coming out. I'm never coming out! I'm never going to have a normal life, so I might as well just stay down here!" The last couple of boxes explode in an angry burst of orange mojo.

Prue comes down the stairs. She looks at Piper, but Piper doesn't look at her. "Phoebe had a empathic breakdown."

If Piper hears her, she pretends not to. She stares at the pile of ash the boxes have become. "That was Grams' stuff."

"Paige's pain brought her back."

That gets Piper's attention. She shakes her hair out of her face and looks up at her. "What happened? Where is she?"

"A demon snatched her from her apartment."

Piper studies Prue a moment, then gets up, strong and determined. "Go to Paige's apartment and see if Phoebe can get a premonition. I'll make the vanquishing potion."

"We don't know which demon it is."

"Details!" Piper brushes past Prue and hurries up the stairs. Her footsteps echo in the tiny basement.

Prue smiles with big sisterly pride. "Go, baby," she says softly. She turns around and follows Piper out of the basement.

---

Henry practically throws open his front door at the sound of their knock. He looks almost disappointed when he finds Phoebe and Prue. He has the portable phone in his hand. "Oh, it's just you."

Prue eyes Henry up and down. "Well, it's just you too," she sneers, and pushes her way into the apartment. Phoebe follows.

Henry closes the door behind them. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. It's Paige. She's missing. I woke up, and she was just gone." And then Henry realizes something. "Phoebe! You're okay!"

Phoebe gives him a wave full of fake humility. Prue, however, only glares. "Paige is missing and you didn't call us?"

He returns the phone to the cradle. He hesitates before responding, as if afraid to confide in them his secret fears. "I don't know. I thought she might be with Leo."

"Leo?!" Phoebe and Prue snort in unison.

"I'm that ridiculous, huh?"

"Honey, Paige loves you," Phoebe soothes, automatically going into 'Ask Phoebe' mode. "You don't really think she would do that to you, do you? And with Piper's husband, of all people?"

"We don't have time for this," Prue impatiently interrupts. "Paige has been taken."

"Taken?!"

"By a demon."

"Demon?!"  
"Okay, are you going to do that every time?" Prue demands.

Henry lowers his eyes. "Not every time," he mutters. Prue gives him the look of death. Henry looks anywhere but at Prue. Hey! That piece of carpet looks nice. Hi, carpet. Remember when I rented that carpet cleaner and spent the whole day trying to figure out how to use it? Good times.

Prue blinks. "Innyway, Phoebe is going to get a premonition, and then we're going to save Paige. Okay? Okay."

"Premonition. Right." Phoebe turns a quick circle to look for a place to receive her next premonition. She heads off towards the bedroom.

Something catches Henry's eye on the carpet. He goes to the gray spot and kneels. He touches it.

Phoebe comes up behind him. "What'cha got there?"

"I don't... know." He squeezes it between his fingers. Some of it sprinkles onto the carpet. He starts to bring his hand up to his face, hesitates, then touches his tongue to the ash. He crinkles his nose and spits the ash off of his tongue.

"Ew," Phoebe mutters. She starts to turn away, but Prue grabs her arm to stop her.

"Wait." Prue looks to Phoebe, her eyebrow arched. She gestures with her head to the ash on the carpet.

Phoebe reads her expression. "Oh no," she says softly. She slowly crouches alongside Henry. She touches the ash. There's a flash, and she pulls back with a gasp. She falls back on her butt and points frantically at the pile of ash. "Paige. Ooh, that's Paige!" she yodels, scrambling away from her sister's remains.

"Phoebe." Prue has to grab Phoebe by the shoulders. "Phoebe!" She looks into Phoebe's eyes. "Where is she?"

"Purgatory."

"Oh, over my dead body," Prue practically growls.

---

Paige teeters on the end of a ledge somewhere. Screams of agony and torment pound at her ears. The sulfur clouds are doing wonders for her already frizzy hair. If she had to guess, she'd guess she was in Purgatory. "At least I didn't get sent to the Wasteland," Paige says with a nervous laugh. She tries to orb, but the dazzling blue lights never come. Apparently, she's going to have to do this alone- without her powers, and without her sisters.

Paige takes a deep breath. "Okay, Paige. You can do this." She pulls herself away from the wall of whatever cliff-like thing she's on. Her foot slips, knocking a loose pebble over the edge. Her brown eyes follow it down, down, down, into the fiery abyss below. She waits for it, but there's no noise to tell her if it ever reaches the bottom.

"No, you can't." Paige sinks back into the black rock behind her. She holds on as tight as she can. She looks up at the orange-red sky above her, and, more out of habit than anything, calls out, "Leo?"

---

Piper tosses some mandrake root into the pot. The potion flares up, then is still. "Ha!" She can't help but feel a little bit of self-satisfaction. When they meet the demon, she'll be ready, and his sorry ass will be vanquished.

Leo comes into the kitchen. He doesn't look at all concerned that less than twenty-four hours ago, he had been dead. By the hands of his own wife. Piper ducks behind the counter. "Stop right there, Mister." She listens for his footsteps, and when she doesn't hear any, she peers around the corner. Leo crouches in front of her. Piper startles. She jerks her hands behind her back just in time. "Leo, no! Are you crazy? Get out of here!"

"I'm not going to leave you, Piper."

Tears glisten in Piper's eyes. "And I'm not going to risk losing you again. I can't. I won't."

"Piper. You're not going to lose me."

"What if I can't control my powers? What if--" Her voice is barely above a whisper as she says, "What if I kill you?"

"You've got to have faith in yourself. I do. You can do this, Piper. You can control your powers. I know you can. You know, you're stronger than you give yourself credit for."

She smiles at him. He brushes the tears from her beautiful brown eyes, and she melts at his touch. He leans in and kisses her tenderly. She kisses him back. She slowly takes her hands out from behind her back. She rests them gently on his shoulders, then slides them down his arms. She finally pulls herself away to gaze into his eyes. "See? I told you," he tells her. She smiles at him, and he smiles back.

Prue and Phoebe jog into the kitchen, holding hands. "Piper, Leo." Prue says, as if to announce hers and Phoebe's presence. "Good, you're both here."

Leo stands. He offers Piper his hands. She takes them, and he helps her up. They smile at each other again, then turn together to Piper's sisters. He puts his arm around her.

"Aww," Phoebe gushes, all full of their warm and fuzzy feelings for each other. She grabs them and pulls them both to her in a great big hug. "I love you guys so much!"

"And you can love Paige after we get her out of Purgatory," Prue snaps.

"WHAT?!" Piper practically howls.

"It was Barbas," Phoebe informs Piper and Leo.

Leo frowns slightly, his arms crossed. "Barbas," he mutters to himself. "I knew it."

Phoebe gives him a dismissive glance, then continues. "He somehow used her Fear to get him out of Purgatory and put her in his place," Phoebe explains. "He trapped her there, without her powers." Perhaps emphatically sensing what Piper's thinking, she waves her hands and quickly adds, "Oh, she's not dead. Not entirely."

"That's why we have to get to her quickly, to make sure she doesn't stay that way," Prue says.

"You've got a plan, don't you?" Piper asks Prue, knowing full well that she does. Prue nods. "Ah! That's my girl."

"Find Barbas. Hurry." She drops her head. She focuses on the floor. Her eyelids grow heavy. She keeps staring. Her eyes flutter shut, but she can still see the floor. It only takes her a second to astral project herself into Purgatory.

END ACT FOUR.


	6. Act Five

FEAR'S LABYRINTH

a Charmed fan fiction by Jennifer A. Johnson

DISCLAIMER: "Charmed", "The Charmed Ones" and other related entities are owned, (TM) and (c) by CONSTANCE M. BURGE, AARON SPELLING Television Inc (A Paramount / Viacom Co.), and The WB (AOL Time Warner Company). All Rights reserved. This website, its operators, and any content on this site relating to "Charmed" are not authorized by Aaron Spelling Productions. No copyright infringement is intended. Any reproduction, duplication or distribution of this material in any form is expressly prohibited.

ACT FIVE.

Theda cowers between the dumpster and the wall. She is a young witch, just coming into her powers, but into Wicca since her early teens. She can hear the demon out there in the alley, stalking her, toying with her, and she silently prays to The Goddess to protect her.

"Marco?" the demon calls. Its footsteps stop inside the small pool of light out in the alley. She can see its feet. Theda closes her eyes and holds her breath.

And then the demon walks away. She can hear its footsteps recede. "Marco?" The demon calls again. His voice gets further and further away until it fades into the night.

Theda silently counts to three. She gathers her courage and scurries out of her hiding space.

There's a thump above her head. Theda's eyes go to the lid of the dumpster. "Polo!" the demon sneers down at her, its breath hot and like rotting flesh on her face. She screams.

"Uh, uh, uh, let's check your Fear at the door." Barbas, the Demon of Fear, drops down from the dumpster. Theda wants to run, but she can't move. He passes his hand in front of her face, then reads his palm. "You're afraid of being buried alive." Barbas grins wickedly. "That can be arranged."

"Not on my watch."

Barbas looks over and sees two of The Charmed Ones, Molecular Manipulation and Premonition. He grins. "Where's the third one? Paper, is it?"

"Paige," Phoebe says, her voice deadly calm.

"Paige. Yes, Paige. How is my dear, sweet Paige?"

"You tell us." Phoebe throws the potion. The vial shatters at Barbas' feet. The potion fizzles and goes out. Phoebe leans into Piper. "Why didn't that work?" she asks between gritted teeth.

"Because you can't vanquish your Fear," Barbas nearly sing-songs. "I'll always be here."

"I got it," Piper tells her sister. She throws out her hands, unleashing the orange wall of mojo on Barbas. Barbas' skin peels away from his bones. He screams as he is torn apart bit by fiery bit. His ashes scatter like leaves in the wind.

Theda and everything else around Barbas remain completely unharmed.

---

The astral Prue flares in red beside Paige. Paige startles and loses her footing. Astral Prue catches her wrist as she goes over the shelf.

Paige hangs over the edge of the cliff by one arm. She stupidly looks down. The distance between her and the pit below seems an endless stretch, and yet the fire is so close she can feel the heat on her skin. Sweat rolls down her face and clings to her back. She's so close to death; the only thing keeping her from it is Prue. And if she were to let go...

Her arm slides a little in Prue's grip, from her wrist to her hand. "Don't let go," Paige pleads, tears in her eyes.

Prue tightens her hold on Paige's hand. "I won't ever let you go."

Paige flashes out, and Barbas flashes in, in her place. He finds himself hanging over a cliff in Purgatory, at the mercy of the dead Charmed One. "Release me, witch!"

"Gladly," Prue smirks. She opens her hand.

Barbas realizes his mistake too late. His eyes widen, and he slips through her grasp. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" he howls all the way down, until he is finally swallowed by the pit of fire.

---

Flashing lights sweep the dance floor. Sexy men and women bump and grind to the pulsating beat of the techno music. Henry has to yell such to be heard over the din. "Astral projection?" The music's so loud that he's not even sure he heard Phoebe right in the first place as he confabs with her, Coop, Piper, and Leo in the VIP section of P3.

Phoebe nods, her head on Coop's shoulder. "Prue figured that if Barbas could use it to get out, she could use it to get Paige."

"That's smart," remarks Henry, thoroughly impressed.

"That's Prue," Piper points out.

"Speaking of Prue and Paige..." Leo starts, directing their attention to the dance floor. The two sisters dance together, shaking their hips and whipping their hair around. They're smiling and laughing and having a good time, which makes Leo smile.

Henry smiles himself. Leo's not such a bad guy. He kind of likes him, actually And he's way too into his own wife to be into his.

Coop stands, interrupting Henry's thoughts. "I'm going to get something to drink. Anyone else want?" They all pass, so Coop starts for the bar. Phoebe gets up and follows him.

"Um, Coop?"

"Phoebe, don't."

Phoebe's heart skips a beat. "Don't?"

"Phoebe. I know. And I'm okay."

"Really?" she asks, her eyes searching his. "Even though I kissed another guy?"

"Really." He takes her gently by the chin and gazes into her eyes. "It wasn't you. It was the empathy. I understand. You would never intentionally hurt me."

A relief she immediately recognizes as her own washes over her. She has to stand on her tiptoes to kiss him, but she doesn't care. "My guy," she baby-talks, putting her arms around his neck.

"Your guy," he agrees. He leans in, and they kiss passionately.

Suddenly, Prue and Paige pounce. Giggling like little girls, they grab both Phoebe and Piper and drag them with them out on the dance floor. Piper protests and looks a little embarrassed at first, but soon the four Charmed Ones lose themselves in the music and each other and just dance.

END ACT FIVE.

FADE OUT.


End file.
